Extensible rack



A. V. ELDER EXTENSIBLE RACK Sept. 8, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 1'7, 1948 i.. ...f'ifln A. V. ELDER EXTENSIBLE RACK Sept. s, i953 ,2 Sheets-Sheetl 2 Filed April 17, 1948 Patented Sept. 8, 1953 UNITED sTATEs PATENT OFFICE EXTENSIBLE RACK Albert V. Elder, Portland, Oreg.

Application April 17, 1948, Serial No. 21,671

that it will be projected out into an accessible Y position when the door to the space or compartment is opened.

Objects of the invention are to provide an improved rack of neat appearance which will be extended from a kitchen cabinet or drying closet into an accessible position by opening the door to the cabinet or closet, to provide a rack of the type described having an extending mechanism operable in a small space, to provide improved mounting arrangements and linkages for extending the rack out of its closet space in rectilinear straight forward motion or substantially straight forward motion, and to provide a novel linkage for producing forward` motion through a door opening by the angular movement of a hinged door.

The invention comprises in its preferred embodiments a plurality of parallel rack bars for supporting articles in a small cabinet or drying closet. In certain embodiments of the invention, the rack bars are mounted for forward sliding movement on horizontal supporting rails and in another embodiment of the invention the rack bars are carried by a parallelogram linkage to swing them forward out of the closet. In either case, the mounting arrangement is such as to eliminate or, at least, reduce sidewise motion of the rack bars when they are extended from the closet, so that a relatively narrow closet space may be efficiently used for drying or other purposes. The present invention enables the utilization of a narrow space which may be rather deep from front to rear and have ample capacity for various purposes but which would not be wide enoughfor the use of conventional racks and hangers. Various novel linkages are disclosed to extend the rack bars forwardly by the opening of a hinged door on the front of the closet.

Still further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the description proceeds in connection with the accompanying drawings illustrating certain preferred embodiments. It is to be understood, however, that various changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of parts, and all such modications within the scope of the appended claims are included in the invention.

In the drawings: y

Figure l is a plan view of a sliding rack in retracted position with the closet door closed; g

Figure 2 is a view of the rack shown in Figure 1 after it has been extended by the opening of the door and showing the linkage in two different adjusted positions;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the door link shown in Figures 1 and 2;

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the rack link shown in Figures 1 and 2;

Figure 5 is a plan view of' a modifled form of sliding rack having a different linkage arrangement for extending the rack;

Figure 6 is a side elevation view of the rack shown in Figure 5;

Figure 7 is an enlarged plan view of a portion of the linkage shown in Figure 5 with the door in closed position;

Figure 8 is a view corresponding to Figure 7 showing the position of the parts when the door is partially opened; and

Figure 9 is a plan view of a modification in which the rack is mounted on a parallelogram linkage.

Referring rst to Figures l and 2, the numeral I0 designates a side Wall of a kitchen cabinet or drying closet and the like having a vertical door II mounted on hinges I2. The rear wall and the other side wall are not shown and it is understood that the closet may be provided with suitable heating and Ventilating means. The present type of rack is particularly designed for a narrow space where there would be insuicient room for a swinging movement of the rack as it is being extended forwardly. 'l'he principal parts of the rack are carried by an angular supporting frame member I3 having a transverse rear portion I4 extending out at right angles from a longitudinal portion I5 which is adapted to form a base or bracket to be secured against the side of the Wall I0. Extending forwardly from the rear portion I4 of the frame member are a pair of horizontal, parallel rails I6 to support a sliding rack member designated generally by the numeral 20. In the present embodiment the rails I6 comprise cylindrical members such as metal tubing which may be welded or otherwise secured to the frame member I3 to stand out horizontally therefrom, and the rack member 20 comprises a pair of parallel, tubular rack bar members 2| which are adapted to telescope over tubular rails I6 with a sliding t. Two rails I6 are sufficient to support the rack member 20 and any number of additional rack bars 22 may be added by connecting them with a short transverse member 23 which is itself integrally connected with the rack bars 2|. It is preferred to place the cross member 23 at a distance from the inner ends of the bars 2I so that the latter may have added length to support the rack member in its fully extended position. With the illustrated linkage arrangement, it is necessary also to have some free space in the closet to the rear of cross member 23 for the movement of the linkage in extending and retracting the rack.

A vertical bearing is provided at 25 in the cross member 23 to receive a down-turned end 26 on the rack'21 shown in Figure 4. The other end of this`V link has an upf-turned end 28 received in a hole or bearing at 215 in one end of a lever 3D. pivotally mounted on a pin or bolt 3| in the frame member i3. The lever 30 is connectedwith the door Il by the door link 32 shown. in. Figure 3- The rear end of this link has a down-turned. end 33 formed on a laterally o'ii'set portion 34 for pivotal connection with the lever 30 at the point 35. The forward end of. the link 32 has a laterally offset portion 36. to clear the hinge i2 and a ,down-turned end 31 to be pivotally engaged in one of a series of holes 38 in a bracket 3S secured tothe doorlnear its hinge edge.

When the end 31 ist inserted in the second hole fromf the hinge end of the bracket 3S, as shown in Figure 1, the rack Will be fully extended 4when the door is opened back to place the parts inthe positions shown in full lines in Figure 2. The laterally offsetportion 33 is seen to clear the hinge I2 toY allow the door il to swing through an angle of 180 degrees. By another adjustment of thedoor link 32. in a diilerent -hole,. the rack'can be fully extended by movement of the door to half opened position as shown in broken lines in Figure 2. rhis adjustment is desirable when the door is near a wall which will not permit it te be fully opened to its full line position and. is accomplished` by placing the endi 31 in. the fourth hole from the hinge end of the bracket 39 which, with the door in the halt opened position, las shown. places the lever 33 and rack member 201 in substantially the same position shown in fulllines. The other holes 38 provide further adjustment and enable the same bracket 33 to be used on both left and right hand doors without turning the bracket over. The rack is preferably designed so that it may be` turnedv over. for mounting on an opposite side wall when the doorl is hinged on the other side. For this purpose the end 2B of link 21 and pin 3l are insertable in their respective holes fromv the top side of the rack regardless of which side is uppermost.

With the link 32 in the second hole of the bracket, the extending motion of therack member 2i) is slow at the beginning of the opening of the door with the motion accelerating as the door is openedwider. With` the link 32 inthe fourth hole of the bracket as shown in broken lines, the extendingmotion of the rack member is faster in order toV be completed in about a 90 degree movement ofthe door. The parts must, ofcourse, be proportioned so that the end of the rack members will follow theV movement oi the door without ruiming into the. door. before it is a vertical plane along the-wall iii so that the` The other end of the lever 3B is which slidably support the' rack member 45.

The rack 45 comprises a pair of tubular rack bars 46 telescopically mounted on the tubular :trails IE and interconnected by a transverse memy ber 41. The member 41 has one end extending Vtovza'rd the wall Il) and provided with a hole at Afor'mng'; a bearing for an end A9 of rack link G. The other end of the link 5i) has an end t!" extending through a hole or bearing at 52 in the upper end of a lever 53 whose lower end mechanism will not limit the. available space in a narrow cabinet.. This modification isv especially for use. whereextreme extension4 of the rack is` desired in spaces where: opening. of the e991?. ilimitada there the extreme narrower is pivotally mounted at 54 on the lower horizontal portion 4.2 of the frame member au. The lever 53 has a hole or bearing at 55 to pivotally receive the end 56 of a long door link 51. The forward end` of the link 51 has an end 5B pivotally mounted in a hole or bearing 59 in one arm ofV a bell crank lever 60 which is pivotally mounted. at 6l on a bracket E2 secured. to the wall I0. The other arm ofv the bell crank lever has a hole or bearing 63 receiving the end 6d' of a short door link 65 having an opposite end 6B pivotally mounted in a hole or bearing 31 in a bracket 63 on the door ll.

This form of construction shown in Figures 5 to 8 has the advantage of confining the movements of the link 53 and lever 53 in vertical planes close to the wall IS so that these parts will not interfere with the use of the rack. The mechanical advantage of the linkage is such that the link 51 and bell crank lever tn are not swung far out from the wall ill. Also, it will be observed from Figures 7 and 8 that the action on the-.rack is Very slow as the door starts to open, substantially no movement oi" the rack occurring until' after the door is opened in the clear beyond the position shown in Figure 8. As the door is opened further, the speed of the action rapidly increases .to extend the rack to its outermost position without substantially more than movement ofthe door. This type of action permits the use of long' rack' bars positioned close to the inner face of the door when the latter is closed and" also relatively close to the hinged' edge of the door.

Figure 9v illustrates an embodiment in which the rack member is supported on a parallelogram linkage.. In this embodiment the wall bracket 10' is in the form of a channel having a web portion attached to the wall and upper and lower flanges standing out horizontally from the wall and apertured to. provide` pivotal mounting for a pair of vertical bolts 1l. A pair of lever arms 12 are integrally connected with the upper ends of the bolts H to maintain the' arms in horizontal. positions throughout their pivotal movements". The outer. ends of. the armsf 12 are pivotall'y connected: at 13 to' a pair ot cross members 14 and 155, supporting a rack member 1B comprising a plurality of tubular rack bars 1-1.. The two armsv 12 are of thesame length, andV the spacing of the pivots 13` is the same as the spacingl of the bolts 1l to provide a parallelogram linkage wherein the rack bars 11 will alawys be parallel with the Wall l0. An additional pair of arms may ble-secured to the lower ends of: bolts 1I to extend under the rack 16 directly beneath the arms 12 to provide a stronger support if desired.

A door link 18 has an inner end pivotally connected with one of the levers 12 at 19 and an outer oiset end 80 inserted in one of a series of holes 8l for pivotal action in a bracket 82 on the door Il similar to the arrangement shown in Figures 1 and 2. The end 80 is set in a selected hole 8| to impart the desired movement to the rack assembly and to allow the link 18 to clear the door and the wall when the door is opened to fully extend the rack. In this embodiment, the rack assembly moves laterally in parallel motion away from the wall l0, as it is extended, and so the cabinet space must be wide enough to provide clearance for this movement. The parallel motion of this linkage requires less lateral clearance, however, than conventional swinging racks.

The present forms of rack facilitate the utilization of a deep, narrow space which would otherwise be practically inaccessible and useless.

Having now described my invention and in what manner the same may be used, what I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

An extensible rack mechanism for a closet or the like having a side wall and a door vertically hinged at the front end of said side wall, comprising a frame having a horizontal member extending along one side of the rack and adapted for mounting on said side wall to furnish the sole support of the rack, a rack member having a plurality of parallel horizontal bars mounted on said frame for longitudinal parallel movement relative to said frame member, a lever pivotally mounted on said frame member and pivotally connected with said rack member, and a link `connected with said lever and disposed along said one side of the rack for connection with said.

door to extend said rack member out of the closet when the door is opened.

ALBERT V. ELDER.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,060,927 Meyer May 6, 1913 1,062,263 Sundquist May 20, 1913 1,227,813 Mahoney May 29, 1917 1,235,362 Nelles July 31, 1917 1,457,744 Newman June 5, 1923 1,885,404 Bamberg NOV. 1, 1932 1,936,124 Wilson Nov. 21, 1933 2,098,729 Myers Nov. 9, 1937 2,411,221 McGuire Nov. 19, 1946 

